I sit around a large fire and I am the only human around. Half-beasts surround me but I know I have nothing to fear. They have welcomed me as one of their own in truth a few days back and the change in attitude is larger than I thought it would be. I think back on the two hundred scuffles I had in total and how it changed things. I feel like I know them all a bit better somehow. I look to my right as a half-beast I cannot remember the name of talks excitedly about a rare insect he saw recently. I may not know his name but I remember how he came at me in the circle of dust and bodies.
He tried to be smart as he charged me then. The way he went about it was unique to him and it makes me feel like I know him somewhat better than someone I’ve never spoken to. I think they all feel the same to some degree. The whole company, if I can even call it that yet, seems more cohesive and I might even say we resemble a true unit. Fighting together in real battles was always how new recruits truly integrated themselves before, but I never considered a ritual of sorts to artificially make that happen.
I smile back as I remember taking down the last one of them. Exhaustion at its peak, I’m only grateful none of them truly went all out. The exercise was still cruelly unfair despite that and I’m proud I managed it all on my own in the end. We all roared goodheartedly at the end of it all and celebrated for a night. We didn’t have much alcohol in those supplies but now we know there is none left at least. I grin at the memory as I look at a few other faces and recall how they came at me with a fond smile.
“Do I have something on my face boss?” One of them notices my stare and asks as I smile at him.
“No, I was just reminiscing about how you completely slipped up and fell face first.” I tell him with a good hearted grin and the others laugh around us. He looks slightly embarrassed and I wonder if it’s still a bit early to tease them. I noticed most of them have no ego to speak of as it was beaten out of them and it’s something I want them to pick back up.
Soldiers should have a spine, and I’m afraid we’ll have to work hard for all of them to regain it fully. Of course some of them clearly weren’t slaves for that long and are full of confidence still, but most of them lack that little something most people have. We need more wins and fast. To gain momentum and confidence in themselves. I know it will come with time for those that make it but I hate seeing my soldiers like this. Ha, look at me already thinking of them as mine.
My little passenger has woken up more but is mostly leaving me alone these days. It’s not something I want to think about right now however as my mood is good and I put it out of mind. Tomorrow we should be hitting another slave camp and I can’t wait to do it properly this time. With a full two hundred men we should easily be able to handle whatever they have over there but I can’t help but feel like they might be expecting us. I’m just not sure how they can respond that fast, unless they run away with all of the slaves? No way that happens I reckon. Too risky having that many slaves out and about.
I turn to the conversation at hand and try to catch up until I notice they are still talking about some damn insects. I roll my eyes at Tibald to my right who laughs and I get up and stretch. I wish them all a good night and retire to my tent where I meditate for a bit. I continue to observe everything to try and get an understanding but I’ve stopped meddling too much in case I do something stupid. Besides, nothing much has happened lately which is a welcome surprise. I lay down in bed and soon fall asleep to the constant sounds of the camp.
—
Morning light wakes me up and everyone else. In a matter of minutes the tents are all gone and another few minutes later everything is packed away and we are ready to go. Everyone seems eager to get to our destination and I can’t fault them. Who wouldn’t want to go and kill some slavers after having suffered their abuse for so long? It comes with the added benefit of saving a lot of their own people too.
We are soon on the march and going at a rather good pace. I slow us down just a notch as I want everyone to be fresh when we arrive. Our goal shouldn’t be more than a few hours away now and I can feel the excitement in the air. I wave for Tibald to come over and he accelerates to catch up with me.
“Yes boss?” He asks me as he keeps pace with me.
“I know everyone is excited but I want to temper expectations.” I tell him seriously and not too loud as I turn towards him. He nods seriously and I continue.
“Some of the slaves will probably die, more than a few in fact.” I tell him as I spot the rest of the company marching behind us. Some are obviously curious but the issue is how everyone seems to think this is going to be great. I just want to make sure reality isn’t too far off from their expectations.
“We will kill every single slaver there, but people will die. It’s not going to be a picnic.” I tell him frankly and he nods.
“I think we all know that boss.” He tells me, unsure of why I am telling him all this. It is obvious if you think about it for a second, but in my experience, big groups like this tend to lose common sense as they get a herd mentality in some cases. Especially when I only have one decent officer right now to tell them how things should be.
“You would be surprised.” I tell him with a sigh.
“Look, just make sure to temper expectations and get everyone to understand that this isn’t going to go off without a hitch.” I ask him and think about it for a second.
“I also think they might expect us, which might complicate things, but don’t tell them that.” I look at him and spot understanding in his expression. We have a high morale right now but it is fragile. I don’t want them to break when we hit a snag later just because they think nothing can go wrong. I need them steadfast whatever happens.
It doesn’t take us much longer before we see the small mountain, or maybe a rocky hill would be more accurate. I can see smoke coming out of the camp here and there from the different fires they have set up. They clearly don’t care if they are found. A tall gate made of wood is the central piece as a palisade surrounds the rest of the entrance to the mines. It looks just like what I imagined it would from the description the men gave me. We take some time to make a ram to use for the gate and I hope they don’t spot us. I’m not sure it really matters but it can’t hurt.
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Satisfied with our crude ram I don’t even want to try for stealth and I walk out on the road proudly as the others follow me. I can hear sounds of alarm as we approach and more men run up to the small watchtowers with bows and whatnot in hand. I don’t actually see the weapons from here but I can guess. We are soon close enough to shout at each other and understand what the other one wants, they clearly have a message for us.
“Stop right there!” Someone yells and I don’t even miss a step. Who the hell ever stops when yelled at. The man sputters while we get closer and soon we are just about fifty meters out of the camp.
“I said stop right there!” He yells louder this time and I continue to ignore him. I take a deep breath and draw just a smidge of power to get my point across.
“Surrender now or be slaughtered like the pigs you are. I won’t ask again.” My voice is loud enough for the whole camp to hear and probably more than a few slaves as it echoes down into the mines.
“Stop or I will kill the slaves you care so much about.” The man in the tower tells me smugly as a kid is brought up with a knife on his neck. I ignore him as I walk towards the gate. I hear some of my men gasp and hesitate for a second. I turn to them.
“Ram forwards!” I order them and they obey without thinking, which might be a good thing right now. We do not want to make them think hostages work. If only that kid dies it’s a huge win in my book. Getting hung up over hostages is the worst possible move right now and I need to pull the men's attention away from it.
“Do you truly not care about his life?” The man in the tower sneers down at us and I know I have to shut him up or the others just might hesitate and stop. I don’t know if they have the willpower to push through as he massacres slaves for them to see and I don’t want to find out.
I draw some power and a red arc soon flows out of one of my swords towards him. He easily dodges considering the distance but he doesn’t move the kid out of the way. A deep cut in his torso is enough for us all to know he is dead. Some of the men look at me in surprise and I ignore it for now. I’ll mend this rift later. Right now I need them to focus and ignore that piece of shit.
“I’m coming for you, little coward.” I address the man in the tower for the first time and I see him shiver a bit despite the distance. The men heave behind me as they ram the big piece of wood into the gate once. They do it again and again. The wood creaks and groans under the pressure and we can all hear people behind it trying to put up anything to fortify the gate. I turn around and see a determined expression on some of them while some are a bit more uncertain. Luckily, most of them seem determined to see things through which should be enough for the others to follow them until we are done here.
It doesn’t take long for the old gate to break enough for us to get through it. It’s not a huge gap but it’s all that we need. I squeeze through it first and am greeted by more than one trembling spear. I activate [Burst Of Speed] and cut all of them down to get a foothold on the other side. The others soon start to emerge behind me with wild expressions on their faces as they look at our enemies.
I see their terrified expressions and behind them the dust filled air with slaves who haven’t stopped working but are clearly looking at the commotion with hope. A few of them finally dare to stop as their overseers are too busy running towards us and getting ready. More and more of my men get through as we just stand there looking at each other. Behind them I can see several entrances into the mines and more and more slaves curiously looking towards us.
I turn to see Tibald behind me with the angriest expression I’ve ever seen on his face. I hesitate but decide against charging. I want them to have this moment. I notice they have somehow managed to enlarge the hole and almost everyone is already on this side. We outnumber them by a fair margin. A bit more than two to one I would say, but it’s hard to judge without a true headcount. I put a hand on Tibald's shoulder.
“It is your order to give my friend.” I tell him and he immediately understands my intention. He turns to look at the others and they all notice our interaction and look back at him. He raises his sword in the air as he inhales deeply.
“CHARGE! SLAUGHTER THEM!” He yells from the depth of his soul and all of the half-beasts join his warcry. The slavers and guards stand their ground for a glorious one and a half second before they break, long before contact between our two forces. Spineless cowards.
Myself? I go towards the watchtower while my men cleans this place of the filth. I find the tower and start walking up the stairs slowly as I keep an eye out above and below me just in case. As I’m approaching the top, I hear his voice again, telling me to stay back. Idiot, like I would stop now. I also see blood dripping down and remember the dead child. I know it was necessary so they wouldn’t use more hostages and kill more of them, but it still feels strange to kill a random kid like that. Especially because I barely feel bad about it, which is the worst part.
Shouldn’t I feel worse? I put it out of mind for now as I finish my way up and the man doesn’t even stop me as he backs off from me as much as possible in this dinky little tower. I turn to look back down on the camp as the view from here is quite nice and completely disregards the terrorized man.
“Stay back, you monster.” He tells me and for the first time I think I agree to some degree. Is this what they call acceptance? I know I’m not… normal anymore. Monster? Maybe a bit, and is that such a bad thing? I don’t know anymore. But one thing is certain. This man is much more of a monster than me, and one I intend to rid this world of. My gaze must betray my intention because the man starts to tremble more as I approach and he even stops properly holding his weapon as I loom over him.
He knows he is already dead, that he doesn’t stand a chance. His gaze meets mine and I feel nothing but contempt for him. He is a weak man that bullied and tortured weaker than him all his life. Should I really feel anything else but pleasure to rid the world of this piece of shit? I put my sword on his chest and slowly push it in just a little. He cries out at the pain and starts pleading as he cries. So pathetic. I push some more as I study his tortured face.
This is what he deserves.
I catch myself for a second and it feels wrong. Not to kill him, but the way I’m going about it. I’m enjoying this way too much. I’ve killed my fair share of people, but I’ve never… enjoyed it, not like this. Fighting for your life is exhilarating, but never torture. I plunge my sword deep and kill him as I pierce his heart. I look back down and see my men routing and slaying the filth that has held them prisoners for so long. I also spot more than one slave attacking their captors now that they have nothing to fear.
Their expressions are so different from mine. I see more than one face twisted in relief and rightful anger. Hope, anger, relief, revenge. It’s a strange mix but it does not feel perverse. My earlier behavior however? I know that wasn’t me, but a byproduct of my passenger. I’m happy I caught myself but it frightens me a bit how long it took.
What if I don’t catch myself at all next time?
I shake my head as I hear a panicked yell from below and hurry down. I’ll just have to be more vigilant in the future. That is all I can do for now.